Protective heating system for railway switches and the like



New. 13 ,'11923. T 'TI 474JGH E. R. PACKER PROTECTIVE HEATING SYSTEM FOR RAILWAY SWITCHES AND THE LIKE FiledDec. 2 1920 4 Sheets-Sheet l awuemtoz 35 fltiozmm E. R. PACKER PROTECTIVE HEATING SYSTEM FOR RAILWAY SWITCHES AND THE LIKE Naw. 13 1923, 11,474,363

Filed Dec. 28 1920 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 L: :53 m E I W s y/ EEI I amvmio' o 339 4 aim M01 E. R. PACKER PROTECTIVE HEATING SYSTEM FOR RAILWAY SWITCHES AND THE LIKE Filed Dec. 28, 1920 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 ambmtoz E. R. PACKER PROTECTIVE HEATING SYSTEM FOR RAILWAY SWITCHES AND THE LIKE Filed Dec. 28, 1920 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Patented Nov.. 13, R9230 ain earner CODFFIMGEO EEBEN RAY HACKER, ,OF NEWJROCHEIIILE, NEW YORK.

Application flledl December 28, 1920. Serial No. 433,591.

To all whom itmay concern: Be it known that I, EBEN RAY PACKEB, a citizen of the United States, residing at New Rochelle, in the county of Westchester and State of New York, have invented new and useful Improvements in Protective Heating Systems for Railway Switches and the like, of which the following is a specification.

m This invention relates to the art of protecting railway switches, movable po nt frogs and similar railway devices from 1nterruption to their proper operation by the accumulation of snow and ice under severe weather conditions, and consists of an unproved construction and arrangement of electrical heating devices particularly adapted for obtaininga high degree of efliciency in installations of this character, and which moreover are capable of being readlly and inexpensively installed. My improved arrangement is further particularly designed for the concentration of the heat where most desired, between the main rail and the switch point and so as to provide for drainage and. the heating elements are further particularly adapted for installation invaried spaced relation to accommodate them to variations in the diflerent switch and other structures, and are further adapted to be rigidly secured in position without danger of displacement and possible obstruction to the movable parts.

As is well known the interruption to rail road trafiic caused by severe winter storms,

"is a considerable and costly factor in railroad operation at which time .to maintain the proper operation of the switches and other devices not only is difiicult and costly, but 'is accompanied by considerable danger to life where men are required to sweep out the switches which has been the common practice at important switch points. While many forms of heating devices have been proposed and tried out for the melting of snow adjacent to switch points, no substantial deee of success has been attained particularly reason of the dificulties and excessive cost of installation, incident to the varied e ecing of the ties and mechanical parts of t e structures until the development, of recent date, of portable electrical heating units, adapted to be readily positioned beneath the rails and distributed as the spacing of the ties and other parts permit. While vthem to the most severe condition resulting from the collection of water from the melted snow and 1C6. As a result thereof, these devices are adapted for temporary installat on only requiring a duplication of installation cost from year to year in their practical use.

The improved device and arrangement of the present invention has for its purpose to provide a heating installation which will possess the proven advantages of the separable heating units or elements with respect to adaptability to the varied conditions of spacing, and which will moreover overcome the objections aforesaid in a manner allowng for permanent installation of the heatmg elements in an arrangement whereby they are not subjected to excessive depreciation and whereby they will possess other important advantages not heretofore obtained. For the latter purpose I employ heating elements or units of improved design and of size adapted to permit of their being secured to the rail and desirably interposed between the rail and the movable switch point, and thereby positioned within the space that it is most important to protect from the accumulation of snow. In my improved arrangement the heating elements rotected from I drainage water, and accor ingly may be are suitably elevated to be permanently installed, and by their location within or immediately below the area to be rotected the maximum heating efiiciency is derived therefrom. A particular featurezoi my improved installation consists in the arrangement of the heating elements, so that they will be in sufiiciently close proximity to the ballast so that the latter will be heated sufiiciently to provide for drainage but with the heaters suficiently elevated to be pro? tected from the drainage water.

- Other important features and advantages of my present invention will be understood by reference to the accompanying drawings wherein like reference numerals are applied to the corresponding parts in the several views.

In the drawings:

Fig. l is a view in side elevation illustrating the improved type of heating element employed.

Fig. 2 is a view in cross section through the two rails and coacting switch points of a railway switch. with the heaters installed in accordance with my invention.

Fig. 3 is a plan view of a switch layout having the improved heating elements incorporated therein in the arrangement of my invention.

Fig. 4 is a sectional view corresponding to a portion of Fig. 2 and illustrating a suitable modification in the arrangement of the heating elements.

Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig. l illustrating the heating element in the modified form of Fig. 4.

Fig. 6 is a plan view of a switch layout having the features of my invention incor porated therewith in a modified arrangement.

Figs. 7 and 8 are detailed views thereof taken at right angles and illustrating the suspension of the heating elements from the base flange of the rail.

Fig. 9 is a side elevational view thereof.

Figs. 10 and 11 illustrate a suitable modification in vertical cross section, and plan wherein one of the heating elements is supported upon a special switch plate.-

In accordance with my present invention I employ portable electrical heating units of standardized length and capacity, which are complete and tightly sealed at the point of manufacture, and adapted to be variously spaced in their distribution and connected in multiple or series as required to proportion the resistance with relation to the voltage of the service available at the locality 01 their use. A desirable heating unit of this type is indicated in'Fig. 1, wherein an indi' cates the completed unit composed of a length of copper tubing 1, enclosing a coil of resistance wire 2 extending lengthwise therethrough and insulated from the tube by means of a powdered silica packing 3 and at its extremities connected to terminal extensions or binding posts 4 having threaded thereon the usual terminal securing nuts 5. The heating units are further provided. with radiating washers 6 as indicated, which are in the form of perforated discs fitted externally onto the tubing to increase the radiating surface. The heating elements so formed are preferably proportioned in length with respect to the normal spacing between the tie rod brackets of the switch point connections so .as to permit of their being positioned intermediate of the brackets as best illustrated in Fig. 3, and the heating units further are provided with securing clamps 7 adapted to be welded to the rail or supporting member, whereby they are rigidly supported in position without danger of displacement and possible obstruction to the movement of the switch point.

The arrangement of my improved heating system wherein, as best shown in Fig. 2, the separable and standardized heating units are secured directly to the rail web within the space enclosed by the rail and switch point, as will be appreciated concentrates the heating effect where most desired, and in addition permits of the units being assembled in varied spacing relation to suit the specific conditions encountered in a switch structure. Installation of the heaters is therefore particularly simplified in that the heaters are installed as completed units, which when secured in position as the spacing permits, may be readily connected in the plural series arrangement by means of connecting wires 8 to suit the requirements of the particular energizing circuit available.

In accordance with a further feature of my invention as best understood by reference to Fig. 2, the securing clamps are formed suitably to support the heating unitsaway from the rail whereby the radiating washers thereof are out of contact with the rail from which it results that a negligible amount of the heat is transmitted by conduction to the rail. The arrangement of the heaters as described is further advant ageous. in that being positioned beneath the rail head they are to a substantial degree protected from being displaced by workmen in the cleaning out of the switches, and the permanent installation of the heating units by spot welding as contemplated reduces danger of displacement to the minimum. The heating units thus installed as will be understood, may without objection be left permanently in position with substantialeconomy.

The heating units shown, and which I preferably employ are commercially known as a Nacrome heating coil and are particularly well adapted for the purpose in that they are to a large degree flexible permitting deformation where required for purposes of clearance and moreover may be galvanized or otherwise protected against corrosion.

As will be understood the heating elements and arrangement thereof in my improved protective system may be variously modified without departing from the scope of my invention. For instance as illustrated in Figs. 4 and 5, I have shown a suitable form of double heating element secured in position by a suitably modified clamp adapted to give increased heating effect where desired.

In Figs. 6 to 9 there is illustrated an approved modified installation in accordance with my invention. As here shown the heating elements a aresecured to a base flange of the rail so as to be suspended below the rail in slightly spaced relation thereto, and

in close proximity to the ballast whereby the latter is heated to a substantial degree to promote proper drainage. In this arrangement as indicated, the heating elements may desirably be interposed between the ties and the elements may be provided with suitable wire clips or clamps 7', adapted to clamp over the upper surface of the rail flange, and in this position are desirably secured by spot welding to provide a rigid installation. Inthis type of installation the heating elements ma desirably be of the form illustrated in igs. 7 and 8 with the looped ends extending inwardly to underlie the space between the switch oint and rail, whereby the heaters occupy t e area within the vertical plane ofthe rail end switch point so that a substantial amount ofheat will rise up throu h the space between the rail and point as is esired. By so arrangin the heating elements, they are suitably e evated to be protected from the drainage water and, moreover are protectively supported beneath the rail flan a so that danger of displacement in tree work is minimized.

In Figs. 10 and 11 I have illustrated a special form and arrangement of the heating elements as applied to the switch plate. As, here shown the switch late 14 providing a sliding bearing for t e switch point isJspecially formed with a suitable recess 15 to receive therein the heatin element which as here shown correspon to the heatingelement of Figs. 5 and 8, but wherein the radiating washers are omitted and the outer extremities are upturned as shown. In this arrangement of the heating element it is in direct contact with the switch bearing plate, whereby the latter will be heated to; a considerable degree by conduction, and the heat' element is slightly spaced from the rail w ereby there will be no substantial heat loss thereto.

' flhe heating devices as described are articularl advantageous in that they may couple up in situ withoutinterfering with the moisture roof closure of the in dividual units and t e latter are particularly well adapted to permit oftransportation without damage thereto. The improved manner of installation ofiers no interference to; ordinary track work, such as surfacing, lining, renewal of-ties, etc, which may all be accomplished without affecting the heater installation. My improved system may be readily varied to suit any particular form or electric current, and ad'usted to any changes in thecurrent availa e, and in addition theheated area may be made larger or smaller as may be desired. The heating current may be controlled by a switch at any desired location so that the heating means so formed may be attendedto by an employeehaving other duties such as signal man or other operator.

Having described my invention, I claim:

1. A protective heating system for railway switch points and the like having in combination with the rails and movable switch points, a plurality of separable, sealed electrical resistance heating units rigidly secured to the rail and connected in series arrangement to provide the resistance value required for the circuit to which they are connected, and said heating elements being supported in spaced relation to the rail and in close proximity to, but above the ballast, substantially as described.

2. A protective heating system for railway switch points and the like having in combination with the rails and movable switch points, a plurality of sepai'able, sealed electrical resistance heating units rigidly secured to the rail and connected in series arrangement to provide the resistance value required for the circuit to which they are connected, and said heating units being supported in spaced relation to the rail and in close proximity to, but above the ballast and arranged to underlie a portion of the rail, substantially as described;

3. A protective heating system for railway swltch points and the like having in combination with the rails and movable switch points, a plurality of separable, sealed electrical resistance heating units rigidly secured to the rail and connected in series arrangement to provide the resistance value required for thecircuit to which they are connected, said heating units being suspended beneath the base flange of the rail and in spaced relation thereto, substantially as described.

d. A protective heating system for railway switch points and the like having in combination with the rails and movable switch points a plurality of similar, selfoontained electrical resistance heatin units rigidly secured to the rail and said eating units being supported in spaced relation to the rail and in close roximity to, but above the ballast and said units being of a size and positioned whereby they protectively underlie the rail. 4

5. A protectiveheating system for railway switch points and the like having in combination .with the rails and movable switch points a plurality of scaled electrical resistance heating units rigidly secured to the rail and connected in series arrangement to provide the resistance. value required for the circuit to which they are connected, such heating units being supported in spaced lation to the rail and in close proximity to,

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but above the ballast, each of said units In testimony whereof I have signed my being arranged to underlie the base of the name to this specification in the presence rail and formed of a. tubular element having of two subscribing witn esses.

a reversed bend and parallel lengths ar- EBEN RAY PACKER. 5 ranged transversely of the rail and terminal Witnesses:

extremities at one side thereof, substantially C. A. GASKILL,

as described. M. IsnmYr, r. 

